'Gold Rush' star Rick Ness' costly error leads to massive six-figure setback
'Gold Rush' Season 15 star Rick Ness has been facing financial struggles and made a bold decision to sell everything to buy a $150,000 12-inch pump for his Monster Red. However, this investment has turned out to be his biggest mistake. He was thrilled and had high hopes for the investment but it soon turned into disappointment when the pump failed to sluice. Rick suspected that the pump might had a potential clog just like the previous season. To address this, his team sealed an intake line to pull water in and run the wash plant.
Unfortunately, the repair didn’t restore the water flow as much as he needed. Rick required high water pressure to run the Monster Red, but the force simply wasn’t there. After further investigation by his team, it became clear that Rick had jeopardized his entire career with what turned out to be a costly mistake. Rick bought a volume pump instead of a pressure pump which halted the gold mining operations for much longer days.
Instead of rushing to buy the expensive pump, he should have consulted with his team and some experts first. Already struggling with financial issues and unable to pay his crew, the pump only added to his troubles. He planned to sluice 300 yards per hour in hopes of uncovering life-changing 1,500 ounces of gold at the bottom of his Duncan Creek claim.
Guess it's back to the drawing board! 🤦♂️ #GoldRush pic.twitter.com/Q2tmuAi9W7
— Gold Rush (@Gold_Rush) December 7, 2024
'Gold Rush' star Rick Ness was left devastated by the loss
'Gold Rush' star Rick Ness was left shocked and devasted by the loss, instantly overcome with regret. He admitted that he had "screwed up" and requested the cameras stop filming, wanting to protect his vulnerable moment. Rick's whole mining operation depended on the pressure pump, but now he couldn't get the red monster running with the volume pump.
He shared his regrets and admitted, "I need that money in my account. I need that money to pay bills, and here we are." However, this was just the beginning of his trouble as he would face more disasters in the upcoming episode. the preview of the latest season has teased that natural calamities would double down his troubles.
'Gold Rush' star Rick Ness fears losing his excavator in quicksand
'Gold Rush' star Rick Ness has been facing disappointing results since the beginning of Season 15. He had hoped that his 190-foot Rally Valley Cut would yield enough gold to cover his debts. However, the cut was quickly flooded with "muddy s**t" as soon as his crew began sluicing.
Things took a turn for the worse when Rick feared his excavator could get stuck in quicksand. He and his crew had to pull out the machinery and find a different way to clear the mess. Rick then secured a 40-year-old cannon to help the pump and dilute the soupy mess but the operations had to be put on halt for more than a day.
'Gold Rush' Season 15 airs on Fridays at 8 pm ET on Discovery Channel. Stream the adventurous episode the next day on Discovery Plus.
